GAY, straight and transgender couples will have their relationships recognised in law for the first time if a watershed bill proposed by Jane Griffiths MP is passed.

The bill - which will be debated in the House of Commons in October - would give couples the right to register their relationships and become next of kin in the eyes of the law.

Registered couples would also have the right to apply for maintenance, if their relationship broke down

They would also have the right to register a partner's death.

Tenancy law would also change to allow the transfer of contracts from one cohabitant to another in the event of death.

As the bill is being proposed by an MP rather than the Government, it only has a small chance of becoming law but Ms Griffiths, who was inspired by the plight of a constituent who was unable to register the death of her partner of more than 12 years, is hoping to provoke a national debate and force the Government to act.

The Reading East MP has drawn up the complex proposals with gay and lesbian rights group Stonewall and The Law Society and is now seeking cross-party support in time for the bill's first reading on Wednesday, October 24.

She said: "A lot has changed in the last 50 years and we simply have to look at the reality of family life as it is today. We can't carry on pretending that we live in the 1950s. There is more than one kind of family in Britain and this bill gives recognition to that fact and would afford a degree of protection to ordinary people,

living ordinary lives.

"People who cohabit with partners often fail to realise that, no matter how long they have been together in law, they have no rights, and this can have devastating consequences if the relationship fails or someone dies."

The proposals are likely to be contentious as they would supersede parts of the 1949 Marriage Act but Ms Griffiths says her bill is not a substitute for marriage.

She said: "It is not designed to offer the same level of protection as marriage and that is why the bill will not include any clauses relating to children.

"Some cohabitants choose not to marry precisely because they wish to avoid the legal consequences of doing so and it would be wrong to create two types of marriage.

"My proposals would give people the option of signing up to a measure of legal protection where they currently have none."